Her study was interrupted when a shadow loomed over her table. Looking up, a Seeyastian woman was standing next to her. She had hot pink skin and long, magenta-colored hair in multiple tight braids, yellow polka dots floating across the tendrils. Her pupils were rhombus-shaped, surrounded by sparkly, purple irises. On her bodysuit’s sleeves, she wore green patches— Eta Guild, if Calista remembered correctly, under Elisa ‘Double-Dutch’ Fiosda, the seventh Student Coach.

  Camelithia ‘Dropkick’ Courier

  Eta Favorite

  Level 226

  220 RP— Loved

  “Hi there. Happy Union Day,” the Seeyastian said, sporting a cockney British accent. The term lightly confused Calista; was that the British way of saying ‘Utopia Day’? “I’m Camelithia Courier, but you can call me Cam if that’s a mouthful.” She stuck out her fuchsia hand, which lacked fingernails— that wasn’t a Seeyastian characteristic. Maybe she was mixed? “And you’re Calista Medley.”

  “That’s right,” Calista replied, taking the handshake.

  “Do you mind if I sit? It’ll just be a few minutes; I can see you’re busy. Unless you’d rather wait until…?”

  “Oh, no, you can sit. I don’t mind.” Calista motioned to the seats across from her, hiding her question. What was an Eta Guild member doing talking to her? Was it just for Utopia Day? She wanted to look over at the green table, but she didn’t want to be too obvious.

  +2 Rel-P

  New Person: Camelithia Courier

  Positive Acquaintance

  “How have you been holding up as a Kappa member?” Camelithia asked her, her hair turning a shade of yellow.

  “Pretty well. Just been training and studying, 24/7.” Suspicion crept into Calista’s stomach. Was this some sort of prank? Was she going to trick her? Utopia Day or not, they could easily make a prank look like an attempt at friendship gone wrong.

  Camelithia’s hair started to change to a paler yellow. “I can see that. I’ve wanted to come talk to you, but… admittedly, I was worrying about what my fellow Etas would think. My SC, Elisa, is nice, though. She’s actually quite impressed of you, I hear.”

  Calista didn’t know how to respond. She knew some of the SCs were curious about her, but none of them had ever acknowledged her, besides Harrison, obviously.

  “I’ve heard most of my news from Belinda. She’s in your Combat class, right?”

  Calista perked up at the Mearthian girl’s name. “Yeah, she’s really nice. We did stretches at Warm-Ups together.”

  Camelithia nodded. “She’s in my Armory class. Very sweet person. I’m hoping she gets on the team this year. She’s told me a lot about you.”

  “She has?” Calista only properly met the girl a few days ago. How could she talk about her?

  Cam continued, “I’ve wanted to meet you, but like I said…” Her cheeks turned a slight shade of purple, probably her way of blushing; her hair was now completely purple. “I feel so foolish saying that.” She brushed a braid behind her ear. “It’s just hard not to value other people’s opinions of you sometimes, even as a fighter. After all, Reputation is a thing here. You know what I mean?”

  “How much time do you have?” Calista said with an ironic smile, bringing both of them to giggles, and making Cam’s hair change back to yellow. She felt more at ease now.

  +5 Rel-P

  “Anyhow, I was wondering if you wanted to join the rest of us at the Lounge later tonight. That way you can get to know everyone else in our club, maybe do some group studying… I figured today was the best day to ask you, considering the holiday.”

  “Lounge?”

  “Oh, it’s in this building, exclusive for us patch-wearers.” Camelithia opened her AIDA band and showed her a 3D map of the Recreation Station, highlighting said ‘lounge’. It was a large room located on the second floor. Swiping on her band, she sent the location to Calista’s band so she could save it.

  “I didn’t know that was a thing,” Calista said.

  “I’m surprised Harrison hasn’t mentioned it. It’s a nice little nook for all of us to knock about and relax. There’s a big HARP, a little eating area, a bar… although, if you’re not legal, you’ll have to wait a few years for that. But there’s plenty of other things to do there.”

  “That sounds… pretty fun,” Calista said hesitantly. She had wanted to get some studying in after Guild Training, followed by a quick message to her family, but one night of relaxation wouldn’t hurt, would it?

  “Great! Some of my other friends will be there, so you definitely won’t be alone. Come along after Guild Training is over. You can walk with me.”

  “I might be a little late… sometimes we like to train overtime.”

  “No problem at all; lots of us do that. We wouldn’t be in our ranks if we didn’t. We’ll be at the Lounge until curfew!”

  +10 Rel-P

  Achieved: Friendly Acquaintance Status

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  +Interactions I

  +Association I

  A small feeling of unease rose within Calista. Would the other Guild people treat her alright in that exclusive Lounge of theirs, especially with no coaches around? There was a reason why she didn’t know about this place until now. Would Rosalina and Hillary be there to pick on her?

  She couldn’t be afraid of them all the time, though. Maybe if they saw that she wasn’t afraid to show her face at their exclusive club, they’d eventually lay off.

  “I’m looking forward to it,” Calista said, beaming.

  ===

  Calista was joined by Belinda and Camelithia at Dinner, to the surprise of the other students. None of them were as gutsy to do the same thing, not even for Utopia Day. Calista half-wondered if these two girls would return to ignoring her the next day; in case that was true, she took advantage of the period to get to know them and even exchange some laughs. However short-lived it would be, it was nice to have people with her again. She missed having genuinely fun conversations with other girls.

  The conversation had upgraded Belinda to Friend Status in no time flat and Camelithia had already progressed into the Soft Friend Status, very close to Friend. It was very easy to socialize with Camelithia’s easygoing and extroverted personality.

  Belinda’s mother was a former Versus fighter: Dapla ‘Sky’ Adenifi. She was known for her preference for aerial combat. She fought for the Martian team and, while she didn’t reach a podium, she achieved high positions and great reverence. She moved to Earth when she married her husband, but sadly passed away from a degenerative Martian disease when Belinda was a little girl.

  Belinda hadn’t made the team the previous year, but hoped to this year. Her determination and lack of insecurity made Calista feel a bit better about possibly not making the team this year, but most of her wanted to— needed to. Someone like her couldn’t afford waiting so long.

  Camelithia grew up in England, but moved to the States when she turned eighteen due to her grandmother’s illness, getting accepted into Fistborn only two years later. Her grandmother was doing fine now, but she’d taken a liking to the States and decided to represent it in the Games. Her call sign came from her iconic dropkick maneuver in many Chaos Rounds, which sparked Calista’s few memories of her highlights in the previous Games. Camelithia was quite likable and didn’t even care about the looks on her fellow Guild members’ faces as they stared at her from their table.

  Calista told Harrison about Camelithia’s invite to hang out with other members at Guild Training. Harrison had initially gotten distracted, staring at her customized uniform— she’d simply recolored it in shades of orange and white. The color was starting to grow on her.

  Once she snapped her fingers at him, he woke up and blushed, saying, “Yeah, I know Dropkick. She’s cool. I’m actually kind of surprised she didn’t go up to you earlier. She’s one of the ‘weird ones’ of her Guild—” he made quotes with his fingers— “she says and does whatever she wants. Her Guild may have mixed opinions of her, but most of the school likes her.”

  Harrison’s approval was all Calista needed. She got excited as she went through training, anxious for it to end so she could head up to that lounge.

  Once she finished, she practically bolted from the Training Center to the Recreation Station, not even bothering to change her uniform colors.

  Task Complete: Find Lounge— Potential RP, Rel-P

  Camelithia was walking towards the Lounge’s door. Calista called out to her, only slightly out of breath after the run. Her UI said:

  -10 EP

  She’d certainly progressed. A few weeks ago, it would’ve been 20.

  “Glad you made it!” Camelithia said. “Now, I must warn you, Hothead and some of the other tops might be in there. I know you don’t get along with some of them…”

  “As long as Hillary’s not in there,” Calista said with a chuckle.

  “Hillary ‘Gravity’ Kaye, you mean? Oh, no, she won’t be in there.”

  Calista breathed out in relief. Maybe Hillary didn’t get along with some of the others, either. “Then I’m good. Hothead mostly ignores me, anyway.”

  Camelithia stood in front of the door, which scanned her like the Guild Training doors did. “Welcome, Dropkick,” the AIDA said. She nodded at Calista, who did the same. “Welcome, Calista.” Both entered.

  Calista instantly smiled at the luxurious room. It was spacious, with an extra-large HARP at the right end and a fully-equipped AIDA bar on the other, but her UI blocked it with a holo-wall only she could see, saying, “21 EARTH YEARS AND UP ONLY”. There were comfy-looking sofas all around, a HARP-ED screen against the back wall, and some CD-Sim mats available. A few students were practicing.

  Rosalina Wiasod was at the bar, sipping from what looked like a large glass of black tar. Her rose red eyes flickered to the entrance and her fanged smile instantly appeared. “Well, well. Our new member has dropped in to meet everyone, eh?” She slid off her barstool and descended the three steps to approach the girls. The drink flashed away.

  “Happy Union Day, Hothead,” said Camelithia, her hair turning slightly orange. Her tone was bored and tired.

  “Ah, yes, Utopia Day,” Rosalina subtly corrected. “A perfect day for our new friend to visit.” She crossed her arms and approached Calista, her muscles showing through her blue bodysuit sleeves. Her platinum patches and badge glinted in the light as she circled Calista, looking at her customized uniform. “You seem quite focused on making a good first impression— or should I say ‘hundredth’?”

  -10 Rel-P

  As Calista expected, Rosalina wouldn’t care enough about Utopia Day to hold back her mocking tone. She folded her arms and ignored her, looking around the room some more.

  “How’s training with Cheater?” Rosalina then asked.

  Figuring it best to answer her, she said, “Going really well, actually.”

  “Hmm, yes.” The Hajjian woman shrugged a shoulder. “Well enough that you take time making new fashion designs instead of training?”

  -3 Rel-P

  “As a matter of fact, yes,” Calista replied, trying to seem confident, even though her heart was practically bursting out of her ribcage from fear. This woman had never spent so much time talking to her. She was definitely up to something.

  Evidently, her show of confidence was a bad idea. Rosalina’s fanged grin grew. “Ah, now I’m curious. You know, it’s common for us Favorites to challenge each other. Maybe you should receive your first one.”

  Calista’s UI blinked urgently:

  Warning— Challenge Imminent

  Pet’s Advice: AVOID

  Higher-Leveled Opponent

  Lindsay accompanied it with, “DO NOT SAY YES.”

  “Hothead, come on. It’s Un- Utopia Day,” Camelithia said, her brows knitting in concern. “She’s just come here to knock about and relax.”

  “Oh, don’t you think she deserves a more proper welcome before she receives her badge?” Rosalina pouted her full lips.

  “My badge? I’m not a Favorite,” Calista said, glancing at Rosalina’s badge. Her heart shuddered as other students began to approach and form a circle around them, curiously listening. Smirks and judging eyes were upon her. She caught sight of Bark Wefitan, Hillary’s boyfriend, eyeing her impassively.

  Rosalina chuckled, looking at the entourage. “You hear that, everyone? Little Miss Gossiper doesn’t even know this about herself.”

  “Know what?”

  Camelithia touched her shoulder. “What do you mean? You don’t know?”

  Frustration built up within Calista. “What are you talking about?”

  “He didn’t tell her,” a Mercurian girl from Beta said with a crusty smile.

  “Of course he didn’t. He’s probably too ashamed,” a Voraxian boy from Delta replied.

  “Maybe he’s not even planning on giving it to her.”

  “Nah, he would. He’d just use her to make himself look good like the cheater he is.”

  “It’s nothing to be proud of. With her colors and her status?”

  Calista shook her head in confusion, looking to Camelithia for help. “What are they talking about?”

  Camelithia stared back at her with wide eyes and pale purple hair. “I-I thought you were aware… you never said anything, and I…”

  “Aware of what?!”

  “You’re a Favorite. Harrison Smith didn’t tell you anything?”